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Wat Chalong

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Couple on a white colonnaded staircase, one arm draped over the other’s shoulder
On a white colonnaded staircase in Old Town.

At a glance

Wat Chalong, or Chalong Temple, is Phuket's most famous temple, free and open every day from 07:00 to 17:00, with the likenesses of its revered abbots, a tall pagoda keeping a relic of the Buddha, and firecrackers going off for answered prayers.

  • What it is: Formally Wat Chaiyathararam, with likenesses of the revered abbots Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang, and a relic of the Buddha from Sri Lanka.
  • Open: Every day, 07:00 to 17:00; free, with donations welcome.
  • How long: A typical visit takes 1 to 2 hours, the temple's website says.
  • What to wear: Shoulders, chest and knees covered; shoes off inside the halls.
  • When: Early, from 07:00 to 09:00, when it's cooler and quieter.
  • Getting there: On Chao Fa West Road in Chalong, by taxi, ride-hailing car or scooter; parking is free.

Is Wat Chalong worth visiting?

Yes, for what it means to Phuket as much as for how it looks. Its halls keep likenesses of its revered abbots, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang. In the Angyee riots of 1876, people fled to Wat Chalong for safety, and Luang Pho Chaem sheltered them, held off a mob and helped make the peace; he is still held in the greatest esteem. In 2019, Phuket's sacred water for the King's coronation was drawn from the temple's well.

The front of a temple hall with tiered red-tiled roofs, a gilded gable and gold-trimmed columns under a grey sky
The front of a hall at Wat Chalong. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped

For many Thais, a visit is a way of making merit, with an offering and a prayer. You're welcome to watch, or to join in quietly.

The Grand Pagoda

The tall pink and gold chedi rises over three floors, about 60 metres high, the temple's website says. Its walls and ceilings are painted with the life of the Buddha, and its top floor keeps a relic of the Buddha, a gift from the abbot of Sampothiharn temple in Sri Lanka.

The Grand Pagoda of Wat Chalong, a tall pink and gold spire rising over a red-roofed base, small gilded pavilions either side under a cloudy blue sky
The Grand Pagoda of Wat Chalong, in 2011. Photo: Edwin Lee, derivative work by MrPanyGoff, CC BY 2.0, cropped
Inside the Grand Pagoda: a white Buddha image under a gilded blue arch, golden statues and white lotus flowers in vases, murals on the walls
Inside the Grand Pagoda, in 2018. Photo: Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0

Why you'll hear firecrackers

The bangs are part of the visit. People who prayed to Luang Pho Chaem light firecrackers in a brick oven to give thanks when a wish comes true. A prime minister lit them too, in 2024, as an offering to Luang Pho Chaem and for good fortune. Keep clear of the oven, and cover small ears.

Opening hours, entry and what to wear

  • Open every day from 07:00 to 17:00. Entry is free; donations and offerings are welcome.
  • Cover your shoulders, chest and knees: long sleeves and trousers, or a skirt that covers the knee. Bring a cover-up rather than counting on borrowing one.
  • Take your shoes off before you go into a hall, and don't step on the threshold.
  • Photos are allowed. Don't take a selfie with a Buddha image, or photograph people while they pray.
  • Speak quietly, don't touch the statues, and never point your feet at an image or climb on one.
  • Women don't touch a monk or his robes: set an offering down, or pass it to a man to hand over.
  • No alcohol: temples are among the places it may not be drunk.
  • Don't fly a drone over the temple: flights over gatherings need authorisation, and every drone must be registered.

Buddha images are sacred in Thailand, and sacrilege can mean prison, for visitors too. Taking a Buddha image out of the country needs a Fine Arts Department permit, shown at Customs.

The best time to visit Wat Chalong

Come early: from 07:00 to 09:00, the temple's website says, it's cooler, the crowds are thinner and the monks are at their morning rituals. Visiting hours end at 17:00, before the golden hour, except on fair nights and holy days, so keep the evening for a beach or a viewpoint.

  • The Wat Chalong fair, first held after Luang Pho Chaem's death more than a century ago, runs for about a week around Chinese New Year, from about sunset to midnight. In 2026 it ran from 16 to 22 February; check the dates nearer the time.
  • On Makha Bucha, 21 February 2027, people walk three times round the ordination hall after dark, with candles, incense and flowers.
  • Loy Krathong falls on Tuesday 24 November 2026. In 2024, Chalong's own celebration was held at the temple; check the programme nearer the day.

The fair, and February's festivals: Phuket in February

Getting to Wat Chalong

The temple's address is 70 Moo 6, Chao Fa West Road, Chalong, Phuket 83000. It's about 7 km along the road from the Tanan (Chao Fa) junction outside Phuket Town, on your left as you come from town. Most visitors come by taxi, ride-hailing car or scooter, and parking is free.

Nearby are the Big Buddha, on the hill above, and Chalong Bay, whose long pier is busy with day trips to the islands.

Phuket's other temples and shrines

  • The Big Buddha, the huge white image on Nakkerd Hill above Chalong, now run as a temple, so dress as you would at Wat Chalong. It has been open from 09:00 to 18:00 since it reopened in March 2026; check before you go. There's no bus to the top: the road climbs from Chao Fa West Road.
  • Wat Phra Thong in Thalang, whose Buddha image is half-buried in the ground; by legend, Burmese soldiers in the war of 1785 couldn't dig it out. Open from 07:00 to 17:00.
  • Wat Phra Nang Sang, also in Thalang, built around 1767, which by legend honours a princess wrongly put to death, whose blood ran white. Its old ordination hall was taken down in September 2025 as unsafe, and a new one is planned.
  • In Old Town, the Jui Tui shrine, the heart of the Vegetarian Festival, and the Saeng Tham shrine, built in 1891, both free.
  • At Saphan Hin, by the sea, the Kiew Tien Keng shrine, where the Vegetarian Festival's gods are sent off on its last day.
The white Big Buddha seated against a deep blue sky, a palm frond hanging down on the right
The Big Buddha, in 2022. Photo: Mussi Katz, CC0, cropped
The gilded head and shoulders of a Buddha image rising from a polished floor inside a temple hall, a railing around it and red doors behind
The half-buried Buddha at Wat Phra Thong. Photo: กสิณธร ราชโอรส, CC BY-SA 4.0

Old Town's shrines and streets: Phuket Old Town

  • Woman in a white headscarf, blouse and trousers walking along a garden path, palms and sun loungers behind
    In a white headscarf, blouse and trousers on a garden path.
  • Woman walking past buckets of chrysanthemums and carnations under marigold garlands at a flower market
    Past buckets of flowers under marigold garlands at a flower market.
  • Couple sitting on a café bench in Old Town with an iced coffee, patterned tiles at their feet
    A couple at an Old Town café table.

Golden Hour Phuket · photography

Holiday photoshoots in Phuket

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After a morning at Wat Chalong, keep an evening for photos in the golden light, in Old Town's lanes, on a beach or at a viewpoint.

  • Couple holding each other in tall dry grass above the sea, a bouquet between them, the low sun flaring gold across the frame
  • Couple mid-spin in front of a butter-yellow Sino-Portuguese shophouse, softly blurred with movement
  • Friends in shirts and dresses lined up at the bow, sea and islands behind
See our photosOur photoshoots